Questions about geological column, fossils

[shardsofnarsil]

I have been reading some things about the geological column and fossils and am interested in evolutionists' responses.

 

First, why is the geological column presented in textbooks as an definite thing when it does not appear to actually exist anywhere in the world? That is, except for a claim by one site on the Internet, http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/geocolumn/ Is this generally accepted to be true information? If so, I do not understand how his various layers have any relation whatsoever to the age of the layers listed in tables. He seems to be saying that each layer is made up of different types of materials. If this is correct, then how do we know how old each layer is unless all the materials are radioactive? I understand that it is said that each layer is not everywhere on earth because it didn't accumulate everywhere all the time, but why, for millions of years, whenever it did accumulate, should it have been one kind of material, and then a completely different type of material be deposited for the next millions of years?

 

But maybe layers aren't identified by composition. Some sites seem to be saying that the different layers are simply labeled stretches of earth based on what fossils we find in the sediment. The pro-evolution sites I have found tend to agree that they date fossils based on the layers in which they are found, but what about fossils found in sedementary layers for which there are no radioactive materials to use dating methods? And does this mean that if there are no fossils found we cannot identify the layer?

 

"If you want to find Pre-Cambrian or Palaeozoic strata you must go to the Grand Canyon. If you want to find Mesozoic you must travel to eastern Arizona. To find Tertiary, you must then travel to New Mexico..." For the overwhelming majority of the earth, why is the distribution of layers so random and varied? For example, the Grand Canyon is reported to contain layers "one, five, six and seven, with small portions here and there of the fourth system, the Devonian." Why should a given area have deposited hundreds of feet during one time period but nothing during the next?

 

I am also interested fossilization in general, as creationists tend to ascribe it to the flood. The main argument I see is that "Rapid burial and lithification are essential for the formation and preservation of fossils; otherwise, they would decay or be destroyed by scavengers. The fact that large scale fossilization is not occurring anywhere in the world today is a serious problem for uniformitarian geologists." Is this true? Am I to believe that every single one of the billions of fossils we find today were either "covered in sediment" before they had a chance to deacy or "frozen, desiccated, or comes to rest in an anoxic (oxygen-free) environment such as at the bottom of a lake" (taken from Wikipedia, for what it's worth)? A hundred billion fossils, for instance, over four billion years should require an average of 25 fossils a year, right? Whether or not the actual number found (plus all we haven't found) is a hundred billion (probably more?), are we seeing a comparable average formed each year today?

 

Another thing that struck me ~ perhaps there's an obvious answer for it ~ is where all this stuff that's accumulating is coming from, since matter is not created or destroyed. Let's rewind back to the Cambrian. All the stuff that today is on top of it ~ where was it back then? And does that mean that if there was less land the sea covered a lot more of Earth's surface? How much would not be underwater?

 

Finally, I am interested in the accepted response to so-called "poly-strate trees" that span several fossil layers. (This also relates back to my earlier question of how we tell the difference between layers) I have searched and found responses in years-old topics from forums that I did not completely understand or that I would like to ask further questions of.

 

In the interest of honesty I'll reveal that I'm a creationist, but don't label me as irrational and ignorant. I'm trying to gain a real understanding of how what the geologic layers are, how it is believed that they were formed, and how it relates to fossils and dating, because whenever I read things I have questions and you can't ask authors to clarify, expound, or rebut.

 

Thank you for any responses to all or any of these questions.